As per the research, the global 3D printing market is expected to reach $31,863.7 million by 2023. 3D printing refers to additive manufacturing, which follows the process of adding material in consecutive patterns to build the desired shape. 3D printing technology helps industries in various aspects, such as in product development, efficiency increment, supply chain improvement and others. Due to these advantages, 3D printing technology is widely being accepted in several industries, including aerospace and defense, healthcare, automotive, gems and jewelry, and others.

Insights on market segments

As per the findings of the research, the market for 3D Printing is expected to register the highest growth in Asia-Pacific, during the forecast period. 3D Printing is widely being adopted in the emerging nations of Asia-Pacific, such as India, China and Japan.

Metal based 3D printing has been the largest revenue contributor to the global market; however, the market for polymer based 3D printing is expected to register the fastest growth during the forecast period. Metal based 3D printing helps in serial production, especially in industries, such as aerospace and defense, and automotive, where products mainly contain metal components. Moreover, the demand for other 3D printing materials, including ceramics, bio-compatible material and wax, is also expected to rise in the global 3D printing market. Several industries, including food and culinary, textile and building automation, are expected to generate demand for these materials based 3D printing. Among all industries, aerospace and defense is expected to the largest user of 3D printing.

North America – The largest 3D Printing market

Geographically, North America has been the largest market for 3D printing. 3D printing is widely being used in aerospace and defense and healthcare industries. The U.S. leads the aerospace and defense and healthcare industries across the globe, which is the major factor supporting the growth of the 3D printing market in North America. Additionally, uninterrupted technological advancements and government initiatives in the region are likely to spur the growth of the North American 3D printing market.

The market is expected to register the highest growth in Asia-Pacific, during the forecast period. Government initiatives, and investment in research and development to innovate new methods and applications of 3D printing are the major factors supporting the growth of the 3D printing market in Asia-Pacific.

Ease of developing personalized products bolsters market growth

The ease of developing customized products is driving the global 3D printing market growth. 3D printing empowers accomplishment of product customization, without bringing cost punishments in manufacturing. In the 3D printing application, the design of products is particularly customized to the necessities of the user, and items are frequently manufactured in a single lot. 3D printing offers advantages to create customized and unique products as per individual requirements of students, professionals or specialists.
3D printers offer the flexibility to create varied compositions of metal alloys to meet the design specifications of end-product. 3D printing has the potential to bridge the gap between the engineering and manufacturing. 3D printers use design specifications as inputs and follow algorithms to provide the end-product specified in the design.

Additionally, these offer the flexibility to manufacture components with desired mechanical properties. Offering these benefits, 3D printers will continue to address the demand to curtail waste and cost. 3D printing offers cost efficiency along with improved printing quality. Due to the same, companies, irrespective of their size, are widely accepting the 3D printing technology. Increasing acceptance of 3D printing technology among consumers is expected to generate higher demand for 3D printers across the globe and is likely to spearhead the growth of the global 3D printing market.

Apart from efficiency and growth benefits, 3D printing offers companies a chance to transform their business by creating new business models, with unique product portfolios and helps operation models to support these new business models. In this way, 3D printing technology helps organizations to strengthen their position in the value chain. Benefits associated with 3D printing are expected to enhance its usage, beyond its function as a means of production, in near future. This is further expected to spur the growth of the global 3D printing market, during the forecast period.

Intensity of rivalry is high in the global 3D printing market

The global 3D printing market is fragmented because of the presence of large number of players offering 3D printing systems and materials for various applications. Due to the fragmented nature of the market, the competition among the global and regional players is high. Some of the major companies operating in the 3D printing market include 3D Systems Corporation, Stratasys Ltd., ExOne, voxeljet AG, Arcam AB, SLM Solutions GmbH, EOS GmbH, Envision TEC GmbH, Materialise NV, Concept Laser Gmbh, Autodesk, Inc., and Koninklijke DSM N.V. The major 3D printing solution vendors have been focusing on innovation to compete in the global market. Stratasys for instance, introduced Infinite Build 3D printer which uses containers of micropellets, instead of fused deposition modeling (FDM). This feature supports the production of complex shapes, as well as optimizes the layout of layers, without increasing the weight of the product.